Writing is one of the oldest forms of human communication technologies; however, this has become a popular practice in therapy today. It is one of the best methods of self-care therapy for those struggling with their mental health. Why so? The process of populating a blank page with letters and words, writing can be a useful mental health tool that records experiences and allows the writer to work through them.
You might be surprised to learn that writing practice is an effective way to relieving emotional stress and improve mental health. However, in what ways does writing actually work when it comes to mental health healing journey? Let’s find out.
Clear Head Space
Sometimes thoughts, feelings, and emotions overfill minds, creates head traffic jams which brings anxiety and triggers mental health episodes. What your mind needs at this point is to have some structure to thoughts and emotions. Like a traffic light, writing completely removes dysfunctional thoughts from your head to bring peace and order in your mind. Be it writing a book or keeping a daily journal, these are very good tools with the spring cleaning in your mind. The trick to achieving this is to not be afraid to confront yourself while writing and acknowledge when you’re judging yourself or feeling dissatisfied with your actions.
An Effective Mindfulness Exercise
Meditating and mindfulness are tested and proven techniques for improving mental wellness, but does writing have the same effect? Yes, expressive writing have often been used in therapeutic settings where people are asked to write about their thoughts and feelings. This resulted with participants to emotionally process something difficult in their lives. See, by focusing on a particular moment and getting it all out there on the page, anyone can free themselves from concerns and anxieties that crowd’s one mind. Without downplaying emotions, you too can gain better mental health index than those who doesn’t write. With that said, writing is an effective avenue to mindfulness that helps break you free from the restrains that stops you from feeling better.
Strengthens Emotional Intelligence
There are numerous methods to mental healing, some turn to therapies and breathing exercise, while others seek less typical ways to improve mental health: one of them is writing. Among other creative activities, writing enables you to recognize, comprehend, and evaluate your own’s emotions. It enables better mental health, increased happiness, and more effective leadership. This practices improves abilities to manage depression and other mental health conditions by helping you recognize your emotions. Furthermore, this allows you to understand yourself better and find the appropriate tools for effective healing.
Become More Self-aware
Writing “let loose.” See, writing gives voice to suppressed emotions and feelings inside you, granting them an opportunity to speak. Through this process, you’ll be able to get to know the different parts within you unknowingly created from experiences. Research shows that expressive writing can enhance self-awareness, ultimately decreasing depressive symptoms, anxious thoughts, and perceived stress. As you write more, confidence build up enabling feelings to speak more. As they spoke more, your condition begins to heal. Moreover, this level of self-awareness can be extremely useful in shifting to a more positive mindset overall.
Writing has been the anchor to navigating a complex mental health journey for emerging author and mental health advocate Diana Grippo. When life began unraveling, writing her book—Bipolar Chronicles an inspirational journey book by Diana Grippo—helped her hand on to normalcy and sense of self. This process has helped her tease apart conflicting thoughts and emotions during manic episodes of her healing. This helped her create a coherent narrative after recovery and began to live a happy, fulfilled life. You can achieve what Diana achieved too. Through writing, you can weave a beautiful narrative from what used to be a jumble of knotted, unkempt thoughts.